A Girl of Many Names
by sarahandmarquis
Summary: A phantom and a whore. A short story. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Nerves consuming her, Ruby sat cross-legged on her small bed. It was her first night of working and, though she would never dream of admitting it to the other girls, she was absolutely terrified. Not that she was terrified of the upcoming act in and of itself, no, she had long gotten over that fear. It was the fear of who she would be going through it with. The fear of not doing something right and being thrown out onto the streets. She counted herself lucky to live in a brothel. She had a better lot in life then her counterparts who lived on the streets.

Ruby shivered and looked longing at the warm dressing gown, draped over a chair. She had been instructed by the Madame to wear a thin chemise and nothing more. At the moment, she was completely miserable and wanting nothing more than to pull something around her shoulders or climb under the covers but, she had been warned not to. She could do anything she pleased, except cover herself.

So, shaking from the cold, Ruby waited for the man to walk through the door who would take away any hope she might have ever had of being an honest woman.

Erik stalked through the dark, cold streets of Paris, his mind a swirling tempest. He knew he was getting desperate and despairing of hope when he sought the company of a harlot. Though he had committed many a heinous crime, he still prided himself on having some form of morals. He knew the border between right and wrong. After all, he had crossed it more than once and in more than one area.

He snarled at the wind which dared to dry to rip his mask and hat from him. He had made a promise to himself. He wouldn't touch the woman he was to spend time with. He would simple talk. Or, maybe not talk. Anything would be better than returning to the empty hole he lived in beneath the Opera House. Anything! Even the awkwardness he knew he would encounter once he set foot inside of the house of ill repute.

At last, the plain brick building came into view and he stopped for a moment, looking up at it.

"Erik is truly hopeless." He whispered to himself as he walked up the door and knocked. "Truly hopeless."

Ruby shuddered as she heard sounds through a thin wall that told her that another girl was earning her keep for the Madame. Ruby covered her ears and tried to block it from her mind. It wasn't helping to calm her nerves at all. Closing her eyes, she retreated into her memories. It had become a habit of hers. She remembered her father, her mother, her three sisters, and all the pleasant times they had experienced together.

She had been the youngest of all the children, spoiled and treasured by her parents. Lightly, she twirled a curl of her auburn hair around a finger, remembering her mother running a hair brush through her hair at night.

A tear glided down Ruby's painted cheek and she quickly dashed it away, hoping she hadn't messed up her makeup too much. Her eyes again drifted towards the warm dressing gown and she wondered if she would be able to slip it on while she waited and then slip it off before her client arrive?

Just as she was about to stand up and try her theory, she heard footsteps stopping in front her door. Her heart went into her throat and she held her breath as the door creaked open. The moon shown through a window off to her right and it illuminated the form that stooped as it entered.

The man, that was the only possibility, was very tall. He had to duck to enter the room. his broad shoulders matched his height but, if his clothes were any evidence of his weight and not just an illusion, he was exceptionally gaunt. the wide-brimmed fedora hat that was perched nicely upon his head, blocked him face. Ruby hadn't the slightest notion what kind of a face would go with such a build.

The man's face fixed upon hers and she swallowed slightly as she saw two burning yellow orbs connect with her midnight blue eyes. He said nothing to her but those burning orbs turned away from her and he reached up to his neck and unbuckled his black cloak, tossing it with a flourish over the same chair as her dressing gown. A moment later, the hat joined the cloak on the chair and he again turned to face her.

Ruby hadn't been imagining his emaciation. She couldn't call him lean, no, that lent the idea that the build became him. No, he was bony as a man denied sufficient food for many days. In the moonlight, she saw his face was deathly pale and unmoving. Even his lips were white. It confused Ruby for a moment before she realized (a shock it was!) that it wasn't a face she was seeing but a mask made of white porcelain. At that sight, her heart began to pound.

Erik's keen hearing picked up the throbbing of her heart and felt his own sink. Of course the girl was terrified. Everyone was terrified of him. Why should he expect someone who believed she was going to be required to see him unclothed and touching her in the most intimate ways to be any different?

He tried not to look at her; the thin chemise she was wearing was giving him thoughts that he should never think about any woman. They weren't thoughts a freak like himself should think. They were far more inappropriate when they passed through his mind. His eyes landed on the chair where he had unthinkingly tossed his cloak and saw a warm dressing gown draped over it.

Lightly tugging on his gloves to be sure that they were properly situated, he lightly picked up the robe and laid it beside the girl who hadn't moved a single inch from when he stepped through the door.

"Here." He whispered softly. "You must be freezing." Ruby looked up at him then at the dressing gown and snatch it up, wrapped it around her shoulders and smiling slightly as the warmth encompassed her. She tried not to think of the fact that most of the warmth came from the few words he had said. After seeing his appearance and his mask, she hadn't been able to form any theories on his voice or manner. From what she had just experienced, she liked both of them. His voice was pleasant and she felt almost relaxed around him. Perhaps this night wouldn't be so bad.

Once the dressing gown was around her, Erik permitted himself the pleasure of looking at her form. She wasn't slender but neither was she buxom. She was directly in between. Her face was beautiful and, he had to admit, almost innocent though both he and she knew better. Her long scarlet locks of hair and midnight blue eyes all combined to make the epitome of beauty. Her neck was graceful and easily glided down to narrow shoulders and an ample bosom which led to her pleasantly narrow waist and fanned out into what he had heard referred to as child-bearing hips. Her legs were long and after looking at her whole body with such a critical eye, he made sure to tear his eyes away from her, not an easy task to be sure.

"Thank you." She whispered as she looked at him, feeling his eyes sweep her form. She was confused though. Why would a man give her an addition garment to wear when he was just planning on removing it and anything else she was wearing? He only had so much time and she didn't understand why he would waste it on clothing removal.

Erik read her thoughts as clearly, they shown in her eyes. She was modest enough not to inquire but he knew he should put her mind at rest. No doubt she was very scared of having to share a bed with him. His treacherous mind imagined fear where there was none to be found.

"Erik will not share your bed." He said softly as he sat down on the chair where he had flung his cloak and set his cloak. "Erik only wants your company. He is very lonely."

Now Ruby was even more confused. Men didn't come to harlots for conversation and friendship. They came when their wives or mistresses weren't able to satisfy them or when they needed to release pent up frustration.

"I'm confused." She said, hoping perhaps he would explain his true intentions towards her.

Erik watched her pretty face twist as she watched him. of course she would be bewildered. It was a perfectly reasonable mental action for her. He folded his hands in his lap and looked at her with his devilish eyes.

"Erik has no one in his life." He said. It hurt his heart a little to actually say that. It made it more real than he had truly ever allowed it to be. "Erik wishes to have someone who be around him and not object to his presence. Someone that perhaps he can play his violin to." It was not very interesting to play his violin to the empty air. "Forgive him for wanting more than you are willing to give."

Ruby twirled a lock of hair around her finger and smiled slightly to herself as she thought about it. It sounded so very pleasant. She wouldn't have to prostitute her body for money, she would get a free concert, and she would be able to help a lonely man. The way his pleading yellow eyes looked at her, she knew she didn't have the mental strength to resist his desire.

"No." She said softly and his face fell instantly and she knew he had believed her response to be rejection. "You are not wanting more than I will give. I think it would be kind of nice. Just conversation, music, and normal things." She smiled at him and Erik nearly collapsed at the side of her bed and thanked her profusely. He had finally found someone who accepted him! Someone who was willing to spend time with him! He chose to forget that he would be paying her for her company and revealed in the pleasure of being wanted.

"Thank you." He whispered as his mask moved, giving Ruby the idea that he might just be smiling. She returned the ghost smile and wrapped her arms around her legs, setting her chin on her knees.

"I suppose we have passed the first level of friendship as we know each other's names. I assume your name is Erik and I also assume you know my name is Ruby." Though, it really wasn't her true name. It was her working name and the name that was quickly becoming who she was. Little Lunette was almost completely gone.

"You are correct about Erik's name and your assumption that he knows yours." He said softly as he watched her, the icy visage of the mask sending a shiver down her spine. What would possess a man to craft a mask with such a cold outlook on life. He must truly be very lonely and pessimistic.

"It's a nice name." She said, trying to think of something to say to him. He desired company but his manner didn't lend itself to conversation of any kind. Perhaps he was just out of practice. It was possible. After all, he had to have been lonely for a very long time to finally seek the company of a whore.

Erik smiled to himself, a warm feeling entering his chest. It was a pleasure he hadn't experienced before in his life. The awkwardness he had anticipated hadn't happened. There had been no embarrassment or shaming. She hadn't demanded to know why he was masked or anything about him. Her eyes were asking questions but she wasn't voicing any of them.

"Thank you." He whispered softly and savored the smile she gave back to him, her eyes glowing pleasantly. He was unsure what else to say. Which were proper questions to ask and which weren't? As he frantically searched his mind for something to say, the clock on the wall chimed and Ruby's face instantly fell.

"I fear your time is up." She whispered quietly and hung her head in sadness. She had actually been enjoying having him around. Even though he hadn't said a word, the silence had been pleasant.

He stood up and buckled his cloak back around his neck and set his fedora back on his head. With a sigh he turned to leave. He was loath to return to his dark house five stories under the earth. As he was about to turn the door handle, he stopped and looked back at her.

"May Erik return tomorrow night?" He asked, his eyes begging to allow him that pleasure. Ruby nodded. She wouldn't deny this lonely man friendship when she herself desired the same thing. Perhaps her life wouldn't be so unbearable.

"Yes, you may." She said softly. She couldn't see his face anymore after he had put on his hat but his glowing golden eyes seemed to lighten and an almost cheery feel entered them.

"Thank you." He whispered before leaving and closing the door behind him. Once he had departed, she stood up and slipped off the dressing gown in preparation for her next client. Somehow, she felt more content with her lot in life. She had something to look forward to. With that smile, she returned to her bed and resumed waiting for whoever would come in next.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Two months had passed since Erik had begun to visit Midnight every night. His life had begun to solely revolve around those thirty minutes where he spent in the company of her. It was strange how a fallen woman could make him feel closer to heaven then he ever had in his whole life. Both of them quietly skirted her occupation, never mentioning it all. Neither of them wanted to remember it. Personally, he was growing exceptionally possessive of her and the thought of another man touching her beautiful body was more than he could even fathom without wanting to strangle every single member of the male population who had defiled her.

He had even gone so far as to give her a completely different name. Ruby wasn't her true name (he was sure of that) so he had no pang of conscience when he gave her another. It was no doubt that the name Ruby had been given her because of her hair. So, he gave her the name Midnight after her eyes and the time when he usually came to see her.

But it was in those eyes that he had seen the change as time had passed. The first time he had ever been in her rooms, her midnight blue eyes had sparkled with joy and light. Now, they were dull and their beauty quickly fading. Her hair was losing its luster and her skin its healthy sheen.

He desperately wanted to take her away from the brothel. But, would a life with a monster be any better? she didn't know of his obsessive habits, of his tendencies towards anger, of the danger that was presented by being near him for long periods of time. No, she was probably safer there. At least his music brought back some of the light in her eyes. He would compose beautiful, happy piece for her on the violin.

She would be happy for the brief half-hour he was able to spend in her company. And, with that in mind, picked up his violin and walked up through the five stories of his Opera House and onto the empty streets. It was a short five-minute walk to the house of ill repute and it was a walk he found himself making in shorter and shorter time the longer he went to see her.

He was even becoming well known at the brothel. Whenever he walked in and paid for his half-hour there was a buzz of conversation among any standing around at the moment. Even Midnight had mentioned that some of the other girls had asked her who her nightly visitor was and why the sounds of a violin would come from the room instead of the normal trademark sounds.

Bless her, she had never said a word to anyone. She was as silent as the grave when it came to anything shared behind the closed door of her bedroom. Along with the one of discretion, she also had many other pleasing traits. Honesty and propriety were certainly two. Despite her less than respectable job, she still had propriety and manners. That appealed to him. In fact, it appealed a little more than he felt he should admit.

Erik had, long ago, resigned himself to loving her. Erik didn't wear his heart on his sleeve. Truth be told, he had never loved anyone. Love was a feeling he had always told himself he would never give and most assuredly never receive. Therefore, he had uprooted even the beginnings of love. But, with Midnight, it came so easy to love her.

It was yet another reason for him not to take her away. No girl would want to be stuck with a love-sick monster who was groveling at their feet and happy to perform any task no matter how menial for even the slightest touch or semblance of acceptance. He knew himself well enough to know that was how it would be. He couldn't live in a house, alone, with her and not want something more than polite distance between them. Yes, she was safer at the brothel. He could see her and keep an eye on her but she wouldn't be in danger of his wrath and desires, both equally sickening.

Ruby sat, cross-legged, on her bed with her warm dressing gown wrapped tightly around her. Every now and then, she glanced up at the mirror to make sure the makeup was hiding the bruises. Last night had been a trial for her. Her client preferred things a little rougher than most and ended up leaving bruises on her face, neck, and a pair of hand print bruises on both her wrists. There were bruises other places but her dressing gown covered them well enough. Subconsciously she knew not to show such things to Erik. She was sure he had never meant to let it on but she could tell he was growing more and more possessive of her. The sight of bruises on her body would certainly send him into a rage, not something she wanted to see.

She knew Erik was a passionate man. He never did anything half-heartedly. Personally, she enjoyed that about him. Everything in his life had a purpose. He never did anything without reason or without desire. From what she knew of his life, there wasn't much to be done so he could put his everything into what he did. It had been about a week after he started coming that she learned he lived at the Opera House and played a sort of ghost for them.

Ruby had found that terribly amusing and always enjoyed hearing of his latest antics. They were always worth a good laugh. She relished it when he came and started to play his violin, playing new pieces for her and asking her how she liked them. Even with no musical training at all, she could tell good music from bad music and his was neither. It was heavenly music.

Perhaps because it was being played by him? sometimes he would play a sweet romantic piece and the look in his golden eyes as he played was enough to melt a heart of stone. His mask was still scowling like it always did but she ignored it easily when he was playing.

Her whole body blushed as she remembered some of the feelings he had incited from her when he played, or when his eyes smiled at her. Ruby couldn't afford to love anyone. It was too dangerous. Besides, Erik only wanted her company, nothing more, nothing less. He wouldn't want her to love him. surely it would be demeaning for a gentleman to be loved by a harlot. And, even if they did love each other, it would never work out. The best she could be was his mistress. He couldn't marry her.

No one could marry a whore. The thought would abhorrent to anyone with any sense of morals and Erik, if anything, had morals. He disobeyed them often but he knew right from wrong and never tried to justify his actions. There was nothing about him that wasn't loveable and Ruby found herself hating and loving the half-hour they spent together. It was becoming a half-hour long reality check of everything she could never have.

Light footsteps outside her door drew her from her morose thoughts and she plastered a smile on her face, pulling her hands inside the long sleeves of her dressing gown so Erik wouldn't see the bruises. The door opened and her Opera Ghost stepped inside, his violin tucked safely under one arm. She gave him a sweet smile, one of her real smiles, not the fake ones she gave her clients.

"Good evening, Erik." She said politely as he set his violin down and removed his fedora and cloak, draping them over the chair as was his habit.

"Good evening, Midnight." He said as he carefully opened his violin case and removed the instrument, checking the strings to make sure it was tuned and ready for use.

Ruby smiled slightly at his nickname for her. She liked it very much. While she still considered herself "Ruby the harlot" it was nice to be called something else. It would almost seem wrong for him to say the same name that men had whispered or shouted as they used her.

"Anything interesting happen at the Opera House?" She inquired, a playful smirk dancing over her lips. Erik reveled in the gesture and found it very charming, causing him to fall more in love with her, if that was possible.

"Nothing very interesting. Erik came across some ballet rats and gave them a good scare, nothing out of the ordinary." Ruby giggled. Erik's favorite pastime was frightening the ballet corps until they were shaking in their little ballet slippers.

"I gather they screamed quite loudly?" She said, the playfulness obvious in her voice. Erik smirked at her. Even though she couldn't see the movement of his lips she could see the mask shift and he knew she had long become an expert on how to read those movements.

"Quite loudly. Erik's ears were ringing for quite a little while." He stifled a laugh and finished tuning the violin. "What would you like to hear, Midnight?" He asked as he set the violin under his chin and the bow to strings. Ruby thought for a moment and said,

"Something of yours. Something new." Erik's yellow eyes lit up and he closed his eyes as he began to play. Ruby wrapped her arms around her knees and closed her eyes, feeling the music washing over her like a cleansing balm. She began so wrapped up in the music that she let her guard down and the insidious dressing gown inched up her arms and revealed the bruised wrists. The music ended mid-crescendo with harsh screak and Ruby was unceremoniously jerked from her fantasies by the sound. She looked up at Erik and knew in a moment what he had seen. Frantically she tried to hide her wrists, but there was no undoing what had already been done.

Erik carefully set his violin and bow down and walked towards her, his eyes glued on the handprint her wrists bore. Midnight looked down but didn't try to conceal the bruises anymore. He sat down on the edge of her bed and ever so gently took a wrist into his hands, holding it like one would a piece of priceless china. His desire to end the lives of any man who touched her increased twenty fold and he struggled within himself to retrain his fury.

"What happened, Midnight?" He asked as he turned her wrist over in his hands and lightly stroked the skin with a gloved finger. He forced himself not to think of how soft her skin was and how warm even through the black leather of his gloves.

Ruby hung her head and said woodenly,

"One of my clients liked his pleasures to involve a little pain. He liked to leave his mark. Unlike the others, his marks weren't bites." Erik's temper flared and as his yellow gaze searched her stony face, he saw the faint evidence of bruises no matter how well Midnight had tried to disguise them.

Removing a handkerchief from his pocket, he began to remove the makeup, disclosing the purple blemishes the fiend had given her. As he did that, tears began to slid down her cheeks, helping him in his mission to remove the makeup. When he was done, he saw a girl he barely recognized. One eye was black and slightly swollen and both cheeks were bruised.

He gently tugged down the collar of her dressing gown and saw more marks, hand prints to be precise, around her neck and shoulders. Erik released her gently and it barely registered in his red-clouded mind that Midnight was still crying.

"Are there anymore?" He asked, his voice deceptively calm. Only someone who knew him very well, someone like Midnight, would know he was about to lose control.

Ruby had sunk so far that she didn't even care she was about to expose her body to someone who wasn't about to use her. She removed her dressing gown and pulled up the thin chemise she was wearing. Bruises covered her thighs. But, they weren't only from the night before but also from the weeks previous. She tried to ignore the yellow and green impurities but there was no ignoring them now that they were bared before her friend. Hot tears ran down her cheeks and gently they were wiped away by Erik.

Erik examined her thighs, raining curses down on himself should he dare look any higher than the bruises. He hadn't thought that someone would actually hurt her. He didn't understand why someone would believe that pain and harm could bring pleasure. True, he had experienced it before with the Shah and with Javert but he still didn't understand it.

"Midnight…" He whispered softly as he gently pulled down her chemise and realized what he had to do. He had thought she would be safer here. She could earn money, no matter how debasing her job was, and she would be safe from harm. He didn't trust himself. But, now with this influx of information, it would be necessary for him to take her away with him. She could come live with him until she decided what she wanted to do with her life. Perhaps she could even get a job in the Opera House. It would give her honest work.

Erik bounded to his feet and grabbed his cloak, buckling it around his neck and turned to her.

"Dress." Was all he said as he plopped his hat on his head. He wasn't going to walk out of the room unless she was with him. He didn't know how on earth he was supposed to sneak her out of a brothel but he would get her out. Even if he had to kill to do it.

Ruby stared at him, completely confused. His eyes had hardened and she shivered a little at the cold tone of his voice.

"What do you mean?" She asked as she pulled her dressing gown closer around her shoulders.

"Just what Erik said. Dress. You can't be seen traipsing about the streets of Paris in such a flimsy scrap of cloth." Ruby stood up and tied the dressing gown around her waist.

"I have no other clothes." Ruby whispered. "When I came here, I had nothing but the dress on my back and they burned it." She hung her head in shame. "I never needed any other clothes." She whispered ever so quietly. Her cheeks burned with shame as she admitted that she didn't anything to her name.

Erik barely even heard her but he still did. He sighed and removed his cloak from his neck and with a flourish settled it onto her shoulders, her petit figure dwarfed by the yards of black cloth.

"What is going on? Why do you wish me to dress?" Ruby asked as she lightly fingered the heavy dark cloak that was now wrapped around her. As she ran her hand over it, her nose was filled with the oddest of smells. The scent that emanated from the cloak reminded her very much of how a damp tunnel should smell. But, this was not time to determined smells and their origins.

Erik turned to her and for an instant, she looked almost innocent, her big midnight blue eyes looking up at him, his cloak draped around her shoulders. It would be a living torture for him to take her to his house. Yet, he loved her dearly and would sacrifice his own comfort so that she might be well. It didn't matter what he went through. It only mattered that she wouldn't be hurt. It was in that moment that he made himself a vow. He would bar himself away from her. He wouldn't go near her unless he had to. She would safe that way.

"Midnight, you are not safe here. Erik was fool to ever believe you would be. You must come home with him! You must! He cannot allow his friend to remain in a place where she will be in danger. His house is no mansion and there is no light except for that of candles and lamps but perhaps it would be better than this." He knelt down in front of her and carefully took on her hands in his, admiring the contrast of his black gloves and her pale skin. "You would be spoiled. He would give you everything you need. If you feel as if you still need to find a job, he could get you hired at the Opera House. You would never have to come back to this life!"

Ruby looked into his pleading eyes as he bowed before her and everything in her cried to go with him, to accept his promises of a life. But, didn't he understand that he was asking a whore if she wanted to come live in his house? Didn't he know that it was one thing to come visit her at her place of occupation but it was another completely for her to live with him?

She gently removed her hand from his and, with a pang of regret, she pulled the cloak from her shoulders and hung it on a counter of the chair, instantly missing the Erik's scent and wanting nothing more than to slip the cloak back on.

"Erik, I can't." She whispered as she drew away from him and sat down on her bed. Her heart hurt but she knew it would be better for all of them. He couldn't have the embarrassment of having a harlot in his house and she wouldn't have the shame of knowing she had tainted his home. true, he had offered her a better job, an honest job, but who in their right mind would hire an ex-prostitute. No one.

As her words struck his ears, Erik felt like he had been stabbed. Of course, he had been mad to think she might want to come live with him. Living with him would be madness! Anything was better than that curse! With shaking legs, he stood up and slipped on his cloak, gathered his violin, and walked to the door. The quicker he got away the better. He couldn't stay in her presence with the shame he was currently feeling. Perhaps she would have forgotten about it by the next night.

Ruby watched as Erik walked to the door and had the instant feeling that he wasn't seeing the situation from her point of view. The look in his eyes and the set of his shoulders was enough to tell her that. she couldn't let him go without him understanding the truth.

"Erik, wait!" She called as she stood up and walked to his side, admiring for a brief instant how perfect it felt to stand beside him, her head just barely reaching his shoulder. Their eyes connected and she gently took his hand in her own, wishing the leather would vanish and show her his real hands. She had never seen a single inch of his skin. Not a single inch. He always kept himself so thoroughly covered that she doubted she ever would. Honestly, she didn't even know what his skin color was. She assumed he was Caucasian but she realized then she might be wrong.

"Erik, I don't know what you're thinking but those thoughts don't look pleasant at all. You're not the problem with my coming to live with you. I am! Don't you understand how much of a shame that would be to you to have me in your house!" She said, hoping to get through his thick skull. She wanted to be with him for more than the half-hour they were together every night but it simple wasn't possible.

Erik turned to face her, his heart pounding again with fresh hope. Her eyes were brimming with tears again and he carefully wiped them away before they could mar the already bruised flesh of her cheeks. If there was one thing about himself that Erik was proud of, it was his ability to read people. now that he allowed himself to hope she might want to leave this hovel he read in her eyes the desire to accompany him.

"Come with me." He said in his most suave voice, hoping that the gentle lilt would cause her to forget her fears. He wanted nothing more than to save her. "Come with me. There will be no one but us at my house." Boldly, he stroked her cheek, the unharmed part. "You will be safe!"

Ruby looked into his eyes and her resistance broke.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"This will be your room, Midnight." Erik said as he guided the young girl, wrapped in her dressing gown and his black cloak into a room opposite his. Leaving her side for a moment, he walked to the fireplace and started a fire and lit various candles so she could see where she would be staying.

This was the finest room in his small house. He didn't know why he had bothered to keep his mother's furniture or why he had even made it into a guest bedroom. It wasn't as if he had guests coming over every week and staying with him. He kept it spotless for absolutely no reason. Truth be told, it was the only thing he did without reason.

Ruby gasped as the candles illumined the room. It was a room truly fit for a princess. The red and black hues reflecting the golden light from the candles and fireplace warmed her. The four-poster queen-sized bed was tucked into one corner with the large Louis Phillippe wardrobe opposite it and beside the dressing table. Next to the bed was a door that no doubt led to a bathroom, a luxury that Ruby couldn't remember when she had been in possession of the pleasure of. On the wall opposite the entry door was the fireplace and even a small sitting area, consisting of a fainting couch and two high-back arm chairs; all arranged in a semi-circle around the fire.

She stepped into the room and her barely shod feet sank deep into the carpets that covered the floor. Her surprise was so great, she couldn't even form a 'thank-you' for Erik as he stood there, his eyes revealing how pleased he was with her unspoken opinion of the room.

"This way." He said as he walked forward and took her hand, leading her towards the bathroom door and opened it, standing back so she could see the various amenities that lavatory held.

If the bedroom had been a surprise for Ruby, the bathroom was double that. It was a pristine white. The tile was white as were the walls but on closer inspection she saw that the walls weren't perfect white but had little red roses all over them. In a little alcove, there was a latrine that flushed; a marvel she had only heard about but never dreamed of actually using! Up against a wall was a fine bathtub, fitted with hot and cold running water. Beside it was a sink, also with hot and cold running water. Above the sink was a cabinet that would easily hold any feminine necessities she might need to store.

Ruby was, honestly, about to cry, she was so happy! Never in her life had such conveniences been in her grasp. She turned to look at Erik and gave him a happy smile, brushing away the stray tear from her cheek.

"Thank you! I don't…I don't know how to thank you!" Erik waved it off and gently stepped inside, taking her hand in his and lightly bringing it up to the cold lips of his mask. It was his delight to see her smile and see her happy. There was no doubt that she would enjoy her new home. He could see the light in her eyes.

"Think nothing of it." He led her back into bedroom and over to the Louis Phillippe wardrobe and opened it with his one free hand, revealing several dresses and assorted undergarments. "Make yourself at home, Midnight. Everything you see is yours." He bowed to her and walked to the door, closing it behind him.

Ruby heard the click of the door lock but didn't feel confined. She felt free! With a childish grin on her face, she removed her dressing gown and chemise, grabbed fresh undergarments and ran back to the bathroom, a hot soak calling her name.

Erik lightly played the melody to his latest composition and smiled softly to himself. Midnight had been with him for about three weeks and was absolutely thriving. He'd taught her how to cook and she had been loving every moment of it. The color was returning to her cheeks and her eyes were again bright. He had discovered, much to his surprise, that she could sing like a nightingale and many of their evenings were spend lost in song.

She had even taken to helping him in his haunting. Her receptiveness to his advice and knowledge was incredible. The way she looked at him sometime caused his heart to freeze for a moment. Though Erik couldn't name the emotion that flooded those midnight blue eyes, he felt that it was a powerful emotion. The strength of it echoing through her. It was growing increasingly more difficult for him not to, when she was near him, to drop whatever he was doing, pulled her against him, and ravage her mouth with his.

But, such an action would no doubt drive her as far away from him as she could go. His love for her told him repeatedly that such thoughts were wrong. He shouldn't think such things. Words like love, marriage, touch were all sickening when thought or said by him. Every day and many times a day, he chastised himself for his every thought towards her.

He loved her so much and it was quickly becoming too much for him to handle.

Ruby smoothed a corner of the table cloth and shifted the position of a fork before determining that the table was set perfectly. Ever since her arrival she had begun to find a side of her she hadn't known existed: perfectionism. Her mission was to make Erik's little house under the Opera House to glitter and shine. She liked to think she had succeeded. There wasn't a speck of dust to be found in the whole of the house with the exception of Erik's room. She had yet to see inside the room and had the feeling that Erik probably wouldn't appreciate her interference in his domain.

With a satisfied smile, she walked out of the dining room and into the hall. Her ears quickly picked up the sound of Erik's organ playing and hurried towards his door. Rapping lightly, she called through it,

"Supper is ready." There was no response from within but she well knew Erik had heard her. Without another word, she walked back to the dining room and settled down in her chair to wait for him. supper was the only meal he would share with her. Otherwise, he didn't really eat anything. He would spend his hours in his room or in his Opera House. there were times when she wondered if he was purposely avoiding her. Those were the times when she would lapse into sadness or even depression, wondering if he was regretting bringing her to his home.

Then, he would emerge from his hiding place, give her a please smile (delivered through his eyes) and her depression would vanish in a moment. Whenever he was with her, Ruby was the happiest of all women. She mentally frolicked in his company. But, she was still always on her guard for any parapraxis that might betray why she enjoyed being around him. The pain of rejection would be too much for her if he knew she loved him. It was certain the moment he knew of her feelings she would be thrown out of his house and be back on the streets in the same position she had found herself before arriving at the brothel.

Therefore, she would tell nothing. No man wanted the obloquy from having a prostitute love them.

Erik heard the light knocking conjoined with her announcement of the evening meal and was hesitant to leave his room. to once more be exposed to her presence was to be once more exposed to the temptation of her smiles and attentions. He glanced over at his bottle of whiskey and for one moment wondered if he should use it for something more than medicinal purposes. It was a momentary thought, one that was pushed away the instant it was formulated. He couldn't risk for her to smell liquor on his breath. She had never known him to drink and it wouldn't start now.

With that resolution in mind, he rose to his feet, straightened his attire and made his way to the dining room where he found her, waiting as was usual. The gown she wore was quite appealing, more so than many things she wore. During her first week with him, she had worn the most modest dresses that were in the wardrobe. Often combining them with a shawl. His first reaction had been to assume she was cold (underground houses are not the warmest) but he quickly understood that it was a need to feel her skin covered after so long of having it bared to the sight of everyone.

Week two had proven to be progress as she stopped wearing the shawl and began to truly act a little more like the girl he was certain lurked beneath the façade she always showed. Now, she was practically teasing him with the outfits she was wearing. The bruises were almost completely gone and she had taken to showing off her shoulders to his perusal. Something he loved and hated.

"Good evening, Midnight." He said as he sat down opposite her and pretended to be fascinated with the food she had prepared. It was easier than actually meeting her eyes and trying to conceal his emotions. He well knew that she could read his eyes as well as any person could read facial expressions. Perhaps better. Sometimes he felt almost naked beneath her gaze. A feeling he didn't much care for. The mask was on his face for more than keeping his face hidden. It also hid his emotions.

"Good evening, Erik." She said cheerfully and he threw up the bars of his heart against her voice. Sometimes he wondered if her mother had been a siren for her daughter's voice was luring him to his doom.

"Did you have an enjoyable day?" He inquired as he dished out some potatoes and then began cutting a slice of meat for each of them. Midnight nodded and for a while chatted about her activities for a while as they ate, requiring nothing more than a few words of acknowledgement from him. it was pretty much the same as the day before had been; cleaning, sewing, practicing her crocheting, and testing out her latest lesson on the piano in the living room.

Ruby finished talking and then decided to turn the conversation in a direction that they had never mentioned before.

"Erik, why do you wear gloves?" It was a question that had been bothering her for some time. She understood that he wasn't the handsomest of men and even realized there was a possible deformity reason for which he wore his mask. But, the gloves were a mystery. There was no truly logical reason for them and they obviously inconvenienced him on occasion.

Erik's gaze departed instantly from his meal and their eyes locked, fear filling his eyes to the brim. He tore his eyes away and took a deep breath to fight off the wave of panic that had washed through his heart. Her question was an innocent one. She hadn't mean any harm in asking it. Yet, he knew women. If he wasn't able to answer her question satisfactorily, she would want him to remove the gloves. The moment she laid eyes on his dead hands, she would recoil, scream, and never let him anywhere near her whether he wore gloves or not.

His mind began to try to form a response to her question but it was clogged with his panic. While he was frantically groping for an answer, Midnight stood up and walked over to him. He felt paralyzed as she reached out, taking one of his gloved hands in hers.

"I know that these hands are probably not the prettiest of hands." She said as she turned the gloved extremity over and examined the palm. "But, I want to see them." She squeezed his hand and looked into his eyes for permission. Though his mind screamed at him to run, to fight, to stop her somehow he couldn't. He knew she would accept his silence as agreement but he couldn't say anything to restrain her.

Ruby watched his eyes carefully and saw the war inside of them. She gave him a gentle smiled and began to slide the glove off of his hand. She glanced up at him but didn't see the two points of yellow light that symbolized his eyes. He had closed his eyes. She squeezed his hand again and completely removed the glove, revealing the hand beneath it.

The dry skin was yellowed, like very old parchment. Blue vessels crisscrossed and bones were almost visible through the somewhat transparent dermis. Gently, Ruby turned the hand over so she could see the back of it. She gasped slightly as she saw hundreds of little scars marring the tawny flesh. She felt the shudder than went through him at her exclamation. Quickly, she squeezed his hand as a comfort and asked quietly,

"Where did these scars come from?" Ruby looked up at his still-closed eyes.

"Erik punched a mirror when he was five." Erik whispered softly, unable to open his eyes or remove his hand from Midnight's. The sensation of another's skin against his own was too precious to reject. He would hold her hand as long as she would allow him. his eyes were fighting to open but he was afraid that when they did, he would find it had all been a dream, a realistic dream, but a dream nevertheless.

Ruby ran her thumb over the scars, wondering what might have possessed a boy of five to punch a mirror. Gently, she drew the hand to her lips and lightly kissed the little scars, praying she hadn't been too bold in her actions and he wouldn't find It disgusting that an ex-harlot was kissing any part of him. her love for him caused her to desire too opposite things. One was to get good to him and not touch him so she wouldn't soil him but the other was to cover him in kisses. The two were hardly compatible.

Erik nearly sobbed when her soft lips touched his hand. if he had thought that holding someone's hand was wonderful then this was heaven! The soft warmth was quickly chasing away the cobwebs and darkness in the recesses of his mind. It was his first kiss. Ever. He now understood why the stagehands loved to steal kisses from the ballet rats. Though the kiss had been only on his hand and so feathery soft, he could easily imagine it on his lips. His imagination had been the only thing that kept him from going quite insane.

At last, he opened his eyes and saw her, standing before him, with that strong emotion he yet couldn't name flooding her eyes. his eyes locked on her lips and he perceived that his fantasies of her lips on his had been far from the wisest course of action. It mattered not that he considered himself a monster, he had the mind of a hot blooded man. His breathing increased and in a moment, he well knew, that if he didn't remove himself from the situation immediately he would regret his actions.

With a hitched groan, he sprang from his seat and bolted to the doorway, stopping only long enough to look back and see her standing there, more than adorable, with his glove in one hand. Their eyes were locked for what seemed to be an eternity before he closed them, breaking the contact and absconded to his room.

He had thought that he couldn't love Midnight any more than he already did. But, he was wrong.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Ruby twirled a lock of her hair while she debated on whether or not make the long trip around the lake or to try to cross it. She was still somewhat unsteady in the boat but the trip around was very long and her feet didn't feel up to such stress.

Erik was out for the day, doing whatever he had in mind, and she was lonely. It had become her habit to go up to the surface and watched the practices or even listen in to the ballet girls' conversation. Though the subject matter was often very boring, it was better than nothing at all which was what she normally received at the house beside the lake.

While she bandied back and forth with herself on the pros and cons of her transportation options, the still, silent air was filled with the sounds of a pole dipping into the water and a boat cutting through the glass-like water. Confused, she called out,

"Erik, is that you? You're home earlier than usual." There was no response and Ruby began to feel nervous as the boat neared her. She had her back to Erik's front door and decided she could probably get inside and bar the entrance before anyone would have a chance to moor the boat and catch her. Her curiosity got the best of her and she waited until she saw the light of the lamp that hung from the masthead of the boat.

The light reflexed off the water and she determined that the shape in the boat was a man. It was too bulky to be a woman. She took a few steps back away from the wharf and watched from the safety of Erik's doorway as the boat docked and a rather average man stepped out.

In the light she was now able to see he was of ordinary height and weight. His hair was graying but had been, in the recent past, a rich black. His eyes were emerald green and his skin was of a dark tone. He wore an oriental hat on his head and reminded her much of the pictures she had seen in the books her father had owned many years back.

His honest face read pure shock at seeing her.

"Good morning, Mademoiselle." He said with a sweeping bow. "I wasn't expecting a woman to greet me." Ruby dropped a clumsy curtsy and frowned a little. She hadn't been expecting to see a strange man on Erik's stretch of shore.

"Good morning, Monsieur. I must say the same." She said softly, still prepared for flight. To her knowledge, Erik had no friends and this man, though kind in appearance, might prove a threat to her. In her time, she had seen many pleasant, fatherly men who were devil's own underneath the veneer of kindness. The man appeared to have noticed her wariness because he said,

"Forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Nadir Khan." Ruby pursed her lips a little and tossed the name around in her head. It was a foreign name, that much was sure. Yet, it sounded familiar. Her eyes suddenly widened as she remembered where she had heart it before.

"I know that name. Erik has often used it as a curse word." She tried not to giggled as the man rolled his eyes. He laughed a moment and his eyes sparkled kindly.

"Yes, that sounds about right for him." Nadir looked the girl over from head to toe and was absolutely confused. She had lived with Erik long enough to know Nadir's name was a curse word but not long enough for Nadir to actually meet her. She couldn't be a relative of Erik's. They had no likeness to each other at all. Her midnight blue eyes were quite a contrast to the yellow of Erik's and her red hair the opposite of Erik's rich black.

"Forgive me, Mademoiselle, but I do not know your name." Ruby blushed deeply and was about to say her name when she realized she wasn't sure what name she should use. Erik called her Midnight, her whore name was Ruby, and she'd never told Erik her real name. she didn't want to offend him by telling a complete stranger more than she had told him.

"Ruby." She said at last. "But, Erik calls me Midnight." Nadir smiled slightly, having noticed the girl's hesitation and wondered if those weren't her real names. The girl couldn't have been more than eighteen but she seemed to know the world well enough for those few years.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mlle. Ruby." He said before glancing at the door behind her. "Might I be so bold as to ask if I may come in?" Ruby looked him over one last time before opening the door and letting him inside. She didn't know how Erik would feel about this man inside his house but she gathered that since he knew Erik and knew how to get to Erik's house (not a small feat at all) he must be close to alright. Nevertheless, she was on her guard.

"Would you like some tea?" She asked as she played the part of a hostess, a part she had yet to practice. Erik had told her the basics but as they never had any company, she hadn't been able to apply any of the instruction. Monsieur Khan shook his head and sat down in the chair to which she then gestured.

Ruby sat opposite him and was silent for a moment, unsure as to how to make conversation. The silence shared between Erik and herself was a delightful silence. This silence was oppressive and she fiddled with her dress, nervous, feeling she had to say something to be a proper hostess but unable to find a single topic to discuss.

Nadir noticed her uncertainty and smiled warmly at the girl. She was so young to be living five stories beneath the earth. He leaned back in his chair and watched the fire crackling merrily in the hearth.

"Mlle. Ruby, might I ask where you met Erik? He isn't the kind of man to fraternized with the female kind." Ruby blushed deeper and for a moment wished the earth would shallow her up. she had been wrong, Erik had a friend. And, no doubt, this friend would frown on her presence in Erik's life. After all, she wasn't anything more than a harlot.

"Erik…um…we met…" She lowered her head so that her hair fell like a scarlet curtain in front of her eyes. "At a brothel." She whispered so quietly she wondered if he had even heard it. She was quiet ashamed of where they had met and was terrified that her admission was going to shine poorly on Erik. Damaging Erik's reputation was the farthest thing from her desires.

Nadir was astounded to say the least. The Erik he knew wasn't one to even court the company of women let alone seek out a woman, harlot of all people, and then bring her home to live with him. The girl seemed comfortable in house so he could only assume she had been there for some time and was more than a nightly visitor in his bedchamber.

He still remembered the day that the little harem girl had been given to Erik and he rejected her. Now, he wouldn't lie by indicating that he hadn't seen the desire in his friend's eyes. his surprise had been in the fact that his friend hadn't acted on the desire. Erik wasn't one for retraining himself but he had.

"Mademoiselle, but I am confused. The Erik who I was under the impression lived here has never once been fond of having women around him. I understand not why you're here. I was under the impression that Erik was pure." At least sexually. Erik was hardly innocent in any other way but in the art of love, he had as much knowledge and courage as a young child.

Ruby instantly glanced up, feeling that she should blush but finding she couldn't, and quickly reassured the foreign man of Erik's chastity. "Oh, Erik has never touched me intimately!" He barely touched her in any other way either, she added in her mind. "Erik came to the brothel, searching for company and found me. I was happy to be his friend. He came to my room every night and would play for me and tell me of all that he did in the Opera House." She smiled slightly to herself as she looked at the fire, recalling those times which had been the highlight of her night.

"How did you come to live with him?" Nadir asked, hoping he had assumed correctly in saying they lived together. He well knew it was highly improper for a man and a woman, both being unmarried and unrelated to each other, to live alone together in the same house. Yet, Erik hadn't ever been one to obey the rules of propriety so it wasn't that sizeable of a surprise he had ignored etiquette.

"He saw bruises on my body." She whispered and Nadir comprehended the situation immediately. He had little doubt that Erik had fallen in love with the girl and his possessive nature shone through.

"He brought you back with him." Ruby nodded.

"And, I have been here for a little over four weeks. He has been very good to me. I'm living like a princess!" She said, her midnight blue eyes alight with happiness. Nadir was sure now that Erik was very fond of the girl. More than as a friend. Erik was hardly a liberal man and looked out for only his own good. In his mind, people were expendable. It had to be a rare feeling haunting Erik's heart for him to suffer with having a housemate. Erik, loner that he was, didn't care for having people attached to him that he had to fret over.

Nadir rose to his feet and bowed deeply to the girl.

"I must compliment you, Mademoiselle. You have tamed the beast." Ruby rose as well and smiled slightly. She didn't believe she had truly tamed Erik. He had always been docile around her. No softening had been necessary.

"I fear there was nothing to tame." She glanced at the clock. "Oh! I must begin work on lunch. Would you like to stay? I'm sure it would be no problem." Nadir almost laughed. Perhaps she wouldn't find a problem with it but Erik wouldn't be too keen on his presence at the lunch table. Not that Erik's opinion mattered to him. To be sure, he was curious about this girl's cooking skills.

"I would be delighted." Ruby beamed at him and hurried to the door that led to the dining room and subsequently the kitchen. "Would you like an appetizer while you wait?" She asked, appearing every part the perfect little hostess. Nadir would have never guess a month previous she had been a whore a brothel. She had escaped before such an occupation had done permanent and true damage to her.

"No, but thank you. I believe I will sample Erik's fine selection of wines." Nadir had long ignored the Islamic rule of not drinking any alcoholic beverage. Never did he over partake of the liquor though. It was simply a social activity that he was sure would be forgiven.

Ruby smiled at him one last time and hurried off to the kitchen.

Erik arrived at the house and scowled as he noticed both of the boats moored on the house side. That was something generally frowned upon, especially if he was on the opposite side. Ruby was lucky it had been shorter for him to come home the long way due to where he had been in the Opera House.

As he entered the house, he slipped off his cloak and was about to call out to Ruby when he saw a figure sitting in a chair by the fire and sipping on a glass of wine.

"You." He snarled, greatly unpleased to see his 'friend'. There was no love lost between them. They had saved the other's life more than once yet Erik always threatened to kill Nadir whenever the man annoyed him. though, as evidenced by the presence of the insufferable personage, he had yet to go through with any promise. Not that he hadn't thought of it more than once.

"Yes, me." Nadir said as he turned to look at his friend. Despite the mask, he well knew his friend's facial expression wasn't the most genial. "Oh, come now. Don't act so irritated. I'm sure you're very happy to see your old friend." Erik didn't respond to that; his golden eyes just glared as he stalked across the room to a chair.

"Why would Erik be happy to see you? You have invaded the privacy of his home." Nadir just smiled to himself and looked back at the fire, crossing his legs and settling in as he took another sip of his wine.

"I didn't invade. I was invited. There is a difference there." He pointed out with a smug little grin. One he knew would aggravate Erik to no end. Nadir was an old man, a lonely, bored, old man and one of the few pleasures he had left in life was needling Erik. The man's reactions were pleasantly amusing and well worth the danger of being strangled.

"Midnight!" Erik sprang to his feet in a moment, his eyes casting around as if she were hiding behind one of the chairs or about to step out from the walls. Nadir chuckled.

"Ruby, or Midnight, as you call her, is in the kitchen making lunch. She was kind enough to invite me." Erik snarled again but retook his place, his eyes belaying his displeasure. His possessiveness had grown even more with her living at his home. He knew she didn't care for many people and he was okay with that. In fact, he preferred it that way. He was even, to some degree, jealous of Nadir.

"Did Erik ever tell you how much he hates you?" Erik said and Nadir laughed again. That was the usual comment that Erik leveled at him. It was nothing new and usually meant nothing.

"You remind me every time I appear at your home, uninvited." He said, grinning at the last word and with his eyes, daring Erik to come up with a comeback. There was rarely a time when Erik couldn't think of something to hit back with but this was one of those times. He just snarled, again, and watched the fire.

Nadir smiled and then asked, completely out of the blue,

"How long have you loved her?"

Ruby sighed and brushed the flour off her hands as she turned to walk to the sitting room. The meal she had intended to make was going to take longer than previously anticipated. It was only proper of her to apologize to her only guest. As she approached the door leading into the sitting room, she heard raised voiced. One of them was Erik's and he sounded very upset.

Hands shaking, she laid her ear against the door and listened as Erik snapped, rather loudly,

"Why makes you think Erik loves Midnight?" Her heart stuttered slightly as her mind gathered the facts of this discussion. Fearfully she kept listening. Half of her wanted to run away so she didn't have to have her heart broken, while the other half was believing the lie that he might just love her. It was lie but one she was willing to swallow.

"Erik, you like to think your heart is an impregnable fortress of stone that no woman could penetrate. But, I'm sorry to disillusion you, it isn't. I have seen your reaction to women, my old friend. You react in fear of them. You fear women. Yet, I have seen you take in harlot, a harlot of all people and show her kindness you rarely even show yourself." Nadir sounded very convinced and Ruby felt as if her knees were going to buckle. Erik couldn't love her! She was a good for nothing whore. He deserved a virginal girl. Someone untouched and unsullied by the hands of the world.

Erik's voice shook slightly as he spoke the next lines, "Perhaps Erik took pity on her. She is a pretty girl and mildly enchanting. But, why must you assert that Erik loves her?" There was something off about his tone and Nadir instantly picked up on it as did Ruby.

"Say it out loud, old friend. You don't take pity on young girls. You have been one for that. In your opinion, your hide was the only one worth saving. Say the truth out loud." Ruby's very breathed paused for a moment as she swore that time slowed down. She heard Erik's intake of breath and then the three most glorious words ever,

"I love her."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

As the words rushed out of Erik's mouth, he felt two conflicting emotions. On the one hand, he was soaring high as a cloud. He had confessed his love! It was real! But, on the other hand, a heavy weight was crushing him down. She couldn't love a monster like him back! That was impossible and too much to ask of the angel.

"I thought so." Nadir said as he watched his friend warring with himself. He had to admit that he felt pity for his friend. In his mind, nothing good to happen to him. This confession of love would only serve to drag Erik down further if he decided to hide it. Nadir was convinced of the girl's love for him in return. She hadn't the mask or Erik's skills of deception to hide the truth from his wise eyes.

He was about to speak again when he heard a strangled gasp and footsteps running away from the door. Erik's eyes connected with the door and if looks could kill the door would have been ashes. It was as if he was blaming the door for whatever he had believed he'd heard.

"Erik, go after her. Tell her to her face. She deserves to know." Nadir rose to his feet and walked to the door; his lunch invitation would have to wait until another, more favorable date. This was a time for the two lovers. All they had needed him for was the little push towards each other. Now, he needed to step out of the way and let nature take its course.

Erik watched him for a moment as he left and fought the doubt that was plaguing his mind. Surely, Midnight couldn't love a creature like him! Could he cope with the rejection that would certainly follow? In fact, he knew she heard him state his love. Without a doubt, she was packing her bags, ready to leave him the moment that she had a chance. Nadir's last words echoed in his mind. _She deserves to know._ He shuddered at the implication of them but knew they were true.

Upon shaky legs, Erik rose and made his way towards Ruby's bedroom. His feet were unsteady and he supported himself against the wall for most of the way. For the first time in his life, he was feeling his forty-eight years of life on this earth. Hands quaking, he knocked on Ruby's door. There were noises from inside and he closed his eyes, trying not to picture her backing her bags and preparing to desert him, taking his heart and will to live with her.

"Midnight." He called softly, knocking lightly upon the door, praying his call wouldn't be greeted with the screams of a terrified woman.

Ruby glanced up from her pacing as she heard the light rapping and Erik's quiet utterance of her name. She laid a hand over her heart, frantic to muffle the loud pounding which she was sure he could hear from beyond the wooden door. These next moments could make or break her, Ruby knew. If Erik came to tell her he was lying, it would break her and she would never recover. If he came to tell her he meant ever word, it would make her the happiest girl in the whole of France.

"Come in." Midnight called from beyond her door and Erik carefully turned the door handle, not wishing to move too fast, fearing he might scare her. Midnight had hardly ever been scared of him but his mind wasn't functioning rationally anymore.

Ruby held her breath as Erik stepped inside the room. Their eyes locked for a moment and she swore she read confusion in his yellow gaze. They stood there, opposite each other in the extravagant room. neither of them were sure how to start the conversation as each knew what had gone on behind that closed door.

"Erik." Ruby finally whispered, as if his name would explain all her troubles in a moment. Erik took a deep gasping breath, cursing the mask for hindering his airflow.

"Midnight." He whispered as he legs finally gave way beneath him. He collapsed to the ground, landing on his knees and lowering his face to the ground, holding his clasped hands out as if in prayer. "Forgive Erik, Midnight!" He cried out as he dared not look up at her. "Forgive him for loving you! Don't leave him! He promises never to speak it aloud again if only you won't leave!"

Ruby stared at the prostrate form of the man she loved and felt tears coming to her eyes. He thought she wouldn't want to hear his words of love and acceptance. Her heart went out to the man who was so emotionally scarred that he believed with all his heart that no one could love him.

"Erik will do anything Midnight asks! Anything! He will make her a queen if she desires it!" He whimpered as he kept his eyes focused on the floor. He didn't deserve to even look at her. He wasn't worthy of looking at beauty. Oh! But, he did love beautiful things so much.

Ruby drew near to him and knelt down before him, enfolding Erik's gloved hands into her own. Erik raised his head and looked at their joined hands.

"You do not have to touch Erik for him to keep his promises." He hung his head but didn't pull away his hands. "You don't have to subject yourself to that torture." He knew his skin, even though gloves and clothing, was distasteful. Midnight shouldn't have to force herself. He would require nothing of her. Nothing save her remaining with him. there wouldn't have to be any touching of any kind. "All Erik needs to survive is Midnight's presence."

Ruby intertwined their fingers and whispered to him,

"What do you need to thrive?" He looked up at her, his yellow eyes hazy with tears and swirling with perplexity. His mind didn't understand what she meant. Thrive? That was a foreign word to him. He had never thrived. Not once in his whole life. Thriving meant continual joy and happiness and he was almost never happy and most certainly never happy for long periods of connected time.

"Thrive?" He whispered, tilting his head to the side and Ruby just smiled slightly as she released one of his hands and lightly stroked the cheek of his mask.

"Yes, thrive." She said as she gently removed his gloves and kissed his hands. Erik stared at his hands as if they were an alien part of his body. A part that didn't belong to him and surely he couldn't be fastened to it. But, it felt so good to have her lips and hands on his hands. It was beautiful. Tear slipped from his eyes and ran both inside and outside of his mask, causing Midnight to reach forward and wipe them away from the porcelain.

As she did this, he realized what he would need to thrive. It was a jealous request and he knew that but he couldn't help but ask for it. The least she could go was reject him. It wouldn't be too much trouble for her to do that and then he would know the truth and never have to wonder again if she might love him.

"Your love." He whispered as he dared to connect his yellow eyes with her midnight blue ones. "That's what Erik needs to thrive." He was shaking and looked away; he could endure her verbal rejection far easier than he could her facial rejection. Though he was torturing himself, he wished to spare his mind that one final torture.

Ruby actually began to cry. His desire was her desire. She wouldn't reject him for to reject him was to harm herself. She reached forward and began to take off Erik's mask.

He did nothing to stop her except a futile attempt to bat away her hands. He didn't have the strength to keep her from seeing the gargoyle beneath the mask. Perhaps this would end it all. Perhaps now he might be able to let himself die like a true monster shoulder. Die and leave the world alone and in peace.

Ruby finally removed the mask and set it aside, lifting up his face and cradling it in her hands. She wouldn't deny it. he was hardly a handsome man. He lacked a nose, most any sort of lips, and the typical fat a face has. The gauntness and yellowed skin tone matched his hands. His eyes, which were tightly shut to ward off seeing her as he had probably imagined it face twisted in horror, were very deep-set. Lightly she ran a thumb along his cheekbone and then, throwing caution to the wind, lightly kissed his thin lips.

"Then, you have it." She whispered as she pulled away, instantly feeling a lack and desiring nothing more than to press her lips to his again. he was positively addicting! "You have all my love and all my heart. Thrive, Erik, thrive. For me."

Erik could do nothing more than fiercely hold her to him and sob tears of joy and disbelief into her shoulder.

From that day forth, Erik and Ruby both were changed people. She brought light to his life and he brought healing to hers. A week after the tearful avowal of love, Erik proposed, begging her to spend the rest of her life with him. Of course, Ruby had accepted. It was that day also that she told him her real name. Lunette.

He had accepted the name and even claimed he adored it quite a lot. It wasn't moments after that declaration that he asked he might still call her Midnight as he was used to that and liked the nickname very much. Lunette had no problems with that.

Their lives went on as all human lives do. Lunette gave birth to three children; two of which were perfectly normal but the third, and final child was deformed much like his father and didn't survive past two weeks old. it had nearly ruined the both of them but in the end, they relayed together and with their surviving two children, agreed to put the past at rest and believe their young son was in a better place where he wouldn't ever be hated for his appearance.

No one knows which of them passed first. Their daughter, the oldest child, came to visit one morning and found them both, dead, wrapped in each other's arms, lying on their bed, smiles on both of the faces of the corpses. They were buried in a small cemetery with little pomp and circumstance which were their wishes.

Fifty years they had spent in together, facing the world. Now, they faced eternity, together. A phantom and a girl of many names.


End file.
